A young mountain lion trapped a woman and her dog in an outhouse near the Sunrise Amphitheater on Thursday morning for several minutes before wandering off, according to Boulder wildlife officials.

The 30-year-old woman and her dog were hiking off trail toward the amphitheater at around 10 a.m. when they saw the mountain lion about 3 feet away, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman Jennifer Churchill.

The woman spotted an outhouse about 50 yards away and started to move toward it with her dog -- which was on a leash -- while making noise and raising her hands, Churchill said. The mountain lion backed up but still followed the woman to the outhouse.

The woman said the mountain lion stayed outside the outhouse for several minutes before leaving.

Wildlife officers were not able to locate the animal but did find tracks that confirmed a mountain lion had been there. The woman described it as a young mountain lion, according to Churchill.

Churchill said wildlife officers deemed the behavior of the mountain lion to be "curious" and not aggressive, and no action will be taken.

"This is a good reminder that this is the time of year when people tend to see mountain lions," Churchill said.

If encountering a mountain lion, Churchill said, make lots of noise, try to appear as big as possible and give the animal a way to leave.

"The woman did everything right in this case," Churchill said. "So all's well that ends well."

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